


There is nothing here for you

by Reika31



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Asexual Reader, Bisexual Kurusu Akira, Depression, F/M, Female pronouns, I will add more as I go, Loneliness, Reader has a palace, depressive episodes, sort of vent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2020-06-02 11:26:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19440520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reika31/pseuds/Reika31
Summary: She knew she wasn't one of them.She wouldn't kid herself. She wasn't that oblivious.Something connected the others to each other. Something she didn't know about. They would laugh between themselves about an inside joke she didn't get. They'd hang out without her, not even telling her when she already knew.None of them wanted to hurt her, obviously. They were just too kind.But it was fine. She had come to terms with never being someone elses top priority. And although the thought hurt, she would never be selfish and demand their attention. It was not her place. She was content with just sitting next to them. She loved all of them so what more could she possibly need?And yet sometimes, when she saw them joking and laughing, a small, very quiet thought entered her mind.I want to be part of that too!I want them to see me! I want someone to be there like that for me!Why cant i have that?But she could never speak up.She was forever trapped in a prison created by her own mind and heart.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!  
> This is my first fanfiction on this platform (Im also on Wattpad but under a different name) and i hope it goes well.  
> Though to be honest i dont even know if I will finish this.  
> Sadly enough I have a pretty short attention span and I have way too many ideas at once. Oh well I will try my best.
> 
> Also English isnt my native language so im sorry for any mistakes that'll inevitably happen.

It was one of these days.

Nothing much was happening, if anything at all. Most of his Confidants were unavailable and those who were, had nothing special going on that day. There was no target to take down, no palace to infiltrate and Mishima had given him no new requests. His usual part time jobs didn’t hire either.

Basically, there was nothing to do and Akira was extremely bored.

Even Morgana left at some point, saying everything was better than to just lay around in LeBlanc. And Akira had been inclined to agree except he wasn’t a cat who can go anywhere and do whatever it wants.

So now what to do?

He opened his phone to look at the map he usually used for getting around town. To be fair after staying a few months he didn’t really need it anymore, but he liked to look at it anyway. He had just gotten so used to it, it felt weird not to.

Then, his eyes fell on Akihabara station and its info. Akira hadn’t checked the Arcade for new prizes in a while. By now they should have new ones.  
Now, finally with a goal in mind he made his way to the station.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Akihabara was packed with people. Every shop was flooded, the restaurants, especially the maid café, had lines forming in front and it was unavoidable to bump into anyone on the streets. The summer heat was already strong but the body heat from everyone around made the air feel even denser. 

None of these things were unusual, it was the weekend after all and a bunch of tourists came to japan during this time. Yet, the arcade was about as deserted as if it was just any other day. No one wanted to waste all their money on crane machines after all.

No one except Akira, who at this point was very thankful for that. The arcade had proper air conditioning and the light breeze he felt on his skin the moment he entered was so godly it gave him goosebumps. 

Akira greeted the store clerk at the entrance with a small nod and made his way towards his favorite machine in the very back. In his opinion it was the only game you had a fair chance of winning at and they had pretty nifty prizes that were changed regularly. 

A moment before reaching it though he stopped. Despite the store being almost entirely empty it just so happened to be that someone was already occupying the machine Akira was going to.

The first observation he made was that they had indeed changed the prize already, which was nice. The second one was that the person in front of the crane game was wearing a black jacket with the hood above their head. Sure, the store had good air conditioning, but Akira didn’t think it was cold enough to need a jacket at all. But then again, what did he know, maybe they were just super sensitive to the breeze?

Either way, he decided to go up to them. “uh… Excuse me-“ he started, but was startled by them flinching and quickly turning to face him.

“Yeah?” her voice was quiet. Akira almost couldn’t hear her. Her posture reflected her timid tone. Her arms were both wrapped around herself protectively, most of her face was hidden beneath her hood and hair and she only ever took small glances at him instead of looking into his eyes.

She kind of reminded him of Futaba.

Akira smiled softly at her and replied, “I was just wondering if I could have a turn on the machine after you?”

The girl looked quickly between him and the machine, almost like she was panicking. Knowing this type of movement already from his various escapades with Futaba he immediately changed course to back out and not worry her.

“It´s okay though if you just started, please take your time.”

“No!”, she piped up, “ No, I was done anyway!” She quickly stepped aside to let him pass to the control board. 

He knew she obviously wasn’t done as she didn’t even hold the prize but he also knew not to interfere with peoples business nonchalantly, so he gave a quick thank you as the girl rushed away.

It took him a few tries to get the prize, a plush sheep, but still more than usual. He was unfocused. And distracted. His thoughts had been somewhere completely different than the task ahead. Akira couldn’t stop thinking about the girl from earlier.

It was stupid really, he knew. Whatever her deal was had nothing to do with him and so far, all the recent months have taught him was to not get mixed up into other people’s business. But there was something about her that struck him as familiar, like he had seen her before, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint where. 

Akira stared at the sheep in his hand, lost in thoughts and ideas where he could ever have possibly seen her, when something caught his attention. 

There, on the floor next to his shoe lay a small keychain. He picked it up to examine it. It depicted an anime character with fluffy green hair and cheerful expression he had never seen before. The chain itself was broken and had instead been replaced by a ripped red ribbon.

It made Akira feel warm inside. This item had obviously been well loved, to the point that even when it broke the owner decided to fix it in a kind of make shifty way that might not hold for long (as Akiras possession of it showed) but at least it would still be with them. 

Or maybe he was reading too much into it.

Akira had always been that kind of hopeless romantic.

He briefly considered giving the keychain to the clerk up front, just in case the owner came back for it. But then he realized, there was a slim chance it belonged to the strange girl. And that made him keep it. He didn’t exactly know why, but it made him hope their paths would cross again. 

That was ridiculous, obviously. Even if he met her again what good would it do him? There was no sense to his way of thinking. And so, he reasoned with himself that, if not for nothing, the hooded girl would at least make a good new Confidant. And according to Igor, Akira should make as many as possible.

So, it made sense to want to see her again, didn’t it?


	2. Red Ribbon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuji has smart ideas sometimes and Akira realizes that maybe he should listen to his gut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK

Akira didn’t stop thinking about the girl when he got back to LeBlanc. He didn’t stop thinking about her when he sat down at his workstation to fix the keychains ribbon. His wasn’t red, but black, but it’ll do. He left the red one on it though. It felt weird to remove it without the owner’s consent. It was her little item after all. It was her decision.

Evidently, he was still distracted when nighttime came, his thoughts still running after the strange girl when Morgana arrived back home.

Akira didn’t even really register the cats greeting either. Not until Mona decided to turn the attention to him by flopping on Akiras face, as cats do.

Akira in turn of course shoved the feline away and sat up grumpily. Morgana just smirked.

“I said I’m H O M E!” the cat repeated, dramatically exaggerating at the end. Akira glared at him “Yes I can see that. There was no need to suffocate me though!”

“Uh yeah there was! You didn’t even notice that I was here!”

The raven haired just scoffed and dropped back down onto his pillow with no further comment. His eyes glanced to the keychain which he had put on his shelve moments before.

Morgana noticed the strange mood Akira was in. His human already didn’t say much but this was unusually quiet for him. It made him kind of worried.

“What’s up with you?”

“Mn?” came as a meek response.

“Heeeeyyyy listen to me, will you?”

Akira woke back up from his little trance to look at the talking cat. 

“What got you in such a quiet mood?” Mona tried again. This time Akira actually turned around to face him fully.

“I’m not sure to be honest.” Morgana sat patiently next to him, folded his tail over his paws and leaned his head to the side to show he was listening.

“It’s just- okay, I met this girl today at the arcade in Akihabara. She was kind of strange. Not in a bad way or anything, just kind of weird. Even though it was super-hot out today she wore a black, long sleeved hoodie with the hood up. I just don’t know what to make of her, I guess. She was sort of shy like Futaba around new people, but different still?” 

He let out a deep sigh.

Mona on the other hand knew that he was clearly overthinking things, as he usually did and decided to brighten up the mood.

“Sounds to me like you’re in looooovvveeeee” The cat laughed and so did Akira.

No, it wasn’t love or anything, that he knew for certain. He had experienced love before, and this wasn’t it. It was something different. Something more. It felt like the same strange feeling he got back then when he met Shido at the elevator in the restaurant. That sense of familiarity.

As if he was destined to meet her. As if it was fate.

***

Sunday came and went, but at least this time he had people to hang out with. Like Ryuji who had begged him to come to his place instead of going outside so neither of them were forced to burn in the smoldering heat. 

Summer was a bitch.

None the less, Akira agreed and fought through the masses at the train station to get to Ryuji’s place. 

Upon his arrival, he was immediately shoved past the other areas in the house and into the bedroom.

It always surprised the thief how clean his best friends’ room was. 

Despite Ryuji’s abrasive and sometimes downright rude personality he couldn’t stand messy environments. He would always criticize Akira on how he should clean his room more, or at least organize all these different souvenirs that he had. Or at least store them properly.

Akira would always think back on Ryuji’s reaction to the chocolate fountain fondly. Good times.

In his defense the attic used to be way dirtier before he showed up.

The two boys chilled on the floor. They hadn’t actually discussed what they would do, so their boredom just continued to grow as they thought of ideas.

“We could watch a movie? Or, I don’t know, didn’t you want to introduce me to that new anime you started watching?” Akira suggested haphazardly, not really caring either way. He hoped mentioning the anime would give Ryuji the incentive to decide. 

And luckily it did.

“Hell, yeah dude! Trust me you’re gonna love it! I have yet to meat anybody who doesn’t.” with that he kept talking about the show excitedly, spoiling probably a good chunk of it too, but Akira didn’t mind. He enjoyed listening to people, especially if they were passionate about it. It was one the things he was good at and he prided himself with it.

During his monologue Ryuji had also searched and found the show on Netflix.

Up until then Akira had only been listening but when he glanced at the screen he did a small double take.

“Uh Ryuji?” His friend was slightly startled by Akira’s interruption.

“What’s up?” he asked curiously. 

“Who’s that character with the green hair?” Akira pointed at the screen.

“Huh? Oh, that’s Midoriya, y’know, the protagonist?”

“Ah, right” he received in response. Akira was distracted, even Ryuji could tell. And if that was the case, then something must seriously bother him. Ryuji knew of himself he wasn’t perceptive enough to pick up on small details.

Ryuji also knew he was absolutely not equipped to handle a worried Akira. Akira was the one to always calm people down, to help others and find solutions. But now here he was, brows furrowed, eyes directed at the ground.

Ryuji asked tentatively “Why?”

Akira hesitated for a moment before grabbing the bag he brought with him. “Well-“ He pulled out the keychain, and confirmed that the character depicted on it was indeed the same as the one from the show. “I found this yesterday when I went to the arcade.”

“Dude what the heck, you’re so lucky!” Ryuji’s eyes were sparkling with excitement. “Though what’s up with the two ribbons? Black n’ red are a real weird color combination for this guy.”

“Originally it was just the red one. I assume the chain was broken so the owner fixed it. But then the ribbon ripped, so I fixed it. I didn’t really have any other colors at home than black.”

“Huh” came Ryuji’s insightful response. “Right, but now you gotta watch the show! You have merch of it after all.”

“I’m not going to keep it.”

The blond gawked at him “what do you mean, you’re not gonna keep it? You took the time to fix it and everything, like what else are you gonna do with it?”

“Give it back to the owner?” Akira didn’t understand why Ryuji reacted this way. Isn’t it normal to want to return things to whom they rightfully belong?

Ryuji, on the other hand didn’t understand how his leader could be so nonchalant about this. As if he truly thought himself capable enough to find whomever the keychain belonged to without any clues?

“Do you even have any idea who this thing belongs to?”

“Eeeeehhh something like that?”

Ryuji was dumbfounded. He moved his hands in a wild gesture, urging Akira to explain further. 

“Well it’s more of a feeling really.”

“Feelin- okay listen. I’m obviously missing a whole ‘nother part of the story here. Mind explaining?”

And so, he did. He told Ryuji about the strange girl, her behavior, the weird feeling of familiarity, and how he, even after leaving the arcade, just couldn’t let the thought of her go for some reason. Even when he wasn’t consciously thinking about her, in the back of his mind she still remained. 

It really was like with Shido.

Now that he thought about it, it was quite foreboding. He felt the exact kind of anticipation he had then. It was as if she had taken root in his destiny, became merged with it and she wouldn’t ever let go. 

It was unsettling, though he didn’t feel scared like he did with Shido. He felt sad. He felt pity. He felt a weight on his shoulders thinking about it.

But he left that little detail out of his story. 

Instead he gave the excuse of a new confidant. The same excuse he had given himself the day before.

“So, what you’re sayin’ is that you wanna see her again cuz you think she might be useful to us? Like as the phantom thieves? And now you’re all distracted, thinking of ways to find her?”

Akira pursed his lips. That’s not exactly what he meant but that is how he explained confidants to Ryuji, so he couldn’t exactly blame him for breaking it down to its bare bones.

“Basically.”

Ryuji hummed in acknowledgement. Both sat there in silence for a while, buried in their own heads. 

“What if she goes to our school?” Ryuji broke the quiet with his suggestion.

Now it was Akira’s turn to be surprised. To be honest that thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. But it was plausible. Even though Akihabara was a good few stations away from Shibuya, a lot of kids from around there still ended up at Shujin academy. Either there, or at Yusukes school. 

“I mean she might.” He said, “What makes you say that?”

“I dunno man, just a thought. Like you gotta start somewhere.”

Ryuji had a point. 

Akira furrowed his eyebrows and mulled it over. Was all of this really worth it? Was the worry he had since the day before really justified? What if he was just overreacting and mistaking whatever he was feeling? Really, what reason did he have to worry in the first place? A strange sense? A premonition?

He couldn’t explain it logically, no matter how many excuses he might make to himself or others. But if his time as a Phantom Thief had taught him anything, it was to trust his instinct.

And he knew, he just knew he needed to find that girl.

If he didn’t, something bad would happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry with how long it takes me to write chapters. I tend to procrastinate a lot when i write things or just in general go on long hiatuses. That's why I generally don't publish anything. However with this one i felt like i should. I really wanted to explore the concept of someone with depression, who deeply hated themselves having a palace. 
> 
> Even though I posted the preview of this fan fiction almost a year ago and got some positive feedback on it ( which I'm really thankful for :D) I only recently got around to actually writing it.
> 
> All i wanted to say is, even though it might take me a while to get anywhere, I'm determined to stick with it and finish this story.   
> So please be patient with me when I end up taking a month or longer to publish a chapter.
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read this :)  
> Hope you enjoy


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